Further than just friends?
by jessie messy
Summary: Claire and Alex on a bench in the stables


Alex rode up the side of the valley with Claire on the saddle behind him. She held his shirt loosely but as the terrain started to roughen and become steeper, Alex told her to grip him tighter. She hesitated at first, but found herself clinging to his back with her arms around him griping his chest. She felt embarrassed but Alex seemed to be enjoying it!  
  
They rode for a few minutes in silence. Claire was thinking about her car. It had broken down on the main road about 15 minutes away by car from Drovers but it would have taken her over an hour to walk home. Luckily Alex found her and let her catch a ride on Blizzard.  
  
"You comfy back there?"  
  
"Yep, can't get any cozier than this!"  
  
"Hold on tight, Claire!" Alex yelled and he cantered down the other side of the hill. He laughed loudly and Claire screamed loudly in his ear. "Bloody hell, girl!" Alex laughed when they came to a stop. "You sure underestimate the power of your voice!" He patted Blizzard's silky mane.  
  
"Why'd you do that you idiot?" She told him. She slid off the saddle onto the ground. Alex jumped off after her and brushed his fingers through her waves of hair. "To hear you scream! But I've learned not to do that again! By the way - your hairs a bit messed up." He said. Claire looked at him and scowled. She smoothed her hair with her hand.  
  
"You think you're so macho don't you?" Claire laughed and gave him a gentle shove. "Bet you couldn't survive giving birth! It's like trying to shit a pumpkin."  
  
"Oh nice Claire, now you're comparing your own child Charlotte to a pumpkin. Very caring of you." He said sarcastically, shoving her back. This time Claire fell over and landed in a patch of damp grass. She gave him an "angry" look and he reached out his hand to help her up. "Oh now I've got a wet bum."  
  
"Can I see?" he asked motioning for her to turn around.  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Fine then. He continued to walk towards the gate. She followed behind so he couldn't get a glimpse of the back of her pants. All of sudden he stopped and turned around. Claire saw the mischievous look in his eyes, but had no time to escape - he grabbed her by the waist and picked her up into his arms. She kicked and called him all sorts of names but nothing would work. He carried her over to the water trough and held her above the water. She screamed and Alex laughed. He pretended to "accidentally" drop her in, but caught her before she touched the surface of the water. "Nah, I'm not that mean." He said and held her away from the trough. "But I saw your wet arse, and you're lucky you didn't get anything more wet!"  
  
"Oh let me go!" She tried to pinch him on the upper arm but he didn't flinch.  
  
"Sorry, didn't feel it." He said as her carried her to the stables. "It's just all my muscles ya know."  
  
"Sure, what muscles?" Claire joked although she DID seem to enjoy him holding her - something she had always wanted. She always admired him for his amazing sense of humour and god he was sexy! Maybe it wouldn't matter if they took it further. Would it be all right to be more than "just friends?"  
  
Alex felt in control. He carried Claire over to Brave J's stable and sat her on the edge of the concrete bench. He wanted to do things that he had always wanted to do. He dreamed of being with Claire every day. Something told him that she felt the same way so he decided to make a move - anyway, someone had to. At least if she rejected him, he would know how she really feels.  
  
Claire sat on the stone bench. It was warm because of the sun, and the heat helped to dry her pants! She thought that Alex had taken her here to check the horses before going inside. She had to ring someone about her car before dark. Instead he had no intentions of going anywhere. Neither did Claire. She sat staring into Alex's eyes. She liked the hazel green colour and his body looked so rugged, strong and sweaty, but his eyes were so gentle. He was the type of man Claire had always dreamed of.  
  
The two just stared for what seemed like forever, infact it was only about 3 seconds before Alex leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Claire knew what was coming, but didn't seem to mind. She just put her arms around his neck and she got shivers down her spine. Alex was amazed Claire hadn't prevented him going further. He put one had gently on her check and the other on the edges of the table. She looked into his eyes and lowered her head. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Then she kissed him back passionately. Alex didn't know Claire could kiss so well! Where had she gotten the practice? He wondered when he felt something pull at his jeans. This was going to be a LONG evening. 


End file.
